Why Pacific Ocean?

Here in sunny Florida, a finger of land thrust between the swirling waters of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, at our new location nestled between Tampa Bay and beautiful Lake Tarpon, we were a bit surprised to find the names "Pacific" and "Ocean" already taken by massage establishments. Luckily, the combination of the two was not.

That is the real reason for the name: I wanted Pacific, my business partner wanted Ocean, we couldn't have either, so we took both.

Simple enough, but after reading this far, you deserve a more interesting explanation...

Since we adopted the name, new meanings have begun to unfold, and the Pacific Ocean has become the ideal metaphor for an important mission: to join the best of Eastern and Western massage techniques in one harmonious effort, under one roof.

You'd think this would be easy...

As it turns out, the world of therapeutic massage, like the rest of our war-torn planet, is divided into camps.

While there are dozens of recognized methods of massage and body work (i.e. "modalities"), and some therapists are tempted to collect them all, it is not unusual (or surprising) to find that many in this business believe their favorite method is the only effective one to use.

And I thought I had left office politics behind when I went to massage school...

Recently, I read an ad in a respected industry journal, posted by an organization that believes "old ways" and the "new" ways it represents cannot be mixed, and should be separately regulated and certified. I was not surprised but somewhat disappointed by the ad, and found it ironic the acronym for their organization resembles the name applied to a form of medical massage popular in China thousands of years ago that is still widely practiced and taught. I wondered at the time if they knew their new ways would become old when they are eventually improved. At least this group takes itself seriously, I thought. They should extend that courtesy to the giants upon whose shoulders they now stand.

Massage is such a mechanically fundamental act, that almost every effective technique in use today has been borrowed or appropriated from an older system, re-labeled as "new" to suit a xenophobic medical culture and packaged to make somebody a buck. Demonstrate something "new," and it can be unmasked as little more than new jargon of exclusivity.

Today, as more of us turn to alternative forms of health care, it's safe to say that we've had enough of professional snobbery and segregation, and it's time to call a truce.

Think back about 40 years ago, when members of the powerful medical community circulated literature branding the fledgling chiropractic industry as quackery. Admittedly, horror stories abound of alternative health care gone wrong, but we need only mention a few names of once popular drugs and surgical procedures to give the critics pause. Sometimes, the new ways aren't so good, and it's safer to stick with a longer track record.

Yet, after years of experimental success and failure, there is plenty of blame to spread around...

We know that in any case of disease, pain, and suffering, when one human being attempts to intervene on behalf of another, there are risks and benefits, both long and short term. This is true despite our best intentions or preparations, and we would do well to learn why.

We all want to base our methods on evidence, but the time and money to confirm every method, by exploring every pertinent variable, is not there. Should we then be left only to "proven" therapies that can potentially generate the most cash? Those are the methods for which the most evidence will be produced.

It should be (and is) up to individuals to determine what form of therapy harmonizes best with their bodies, beliefs, and comfort, because health care always works best when patients "buy in" to the form of care delivered to them, a variable not always measured in blind trials, and perhaps not even measurable in every case or culture. Such credibility is a delicate commodity that should be respected, especially by those who seek to promote another point of view, because they may some day face similar resistance. It is not in the nature of humankind to welcome every invasive or fashionable procedure that comes along without a fight.

The massage industry is once again in that tender phase, when many recognize its value to health and well-being, but some (insurance companies, for example) aren't sure and may not pay for it. The number of people who do, however, is a testimony to its effectiveness, and a call for its legitimacy and equal standing in the pantheon of medical care. After all, massage was at one time the only form of health care available.

Have a few thousand years erased its healing power? Hold onto your answer for a moment, and ask yourself another question... Have a few thousand years really changed our bodies that much?

The Pacific Ocean is the world's largest geographic feature, the glue joining the East with the West, and is large enough to cradle them both. Once a barrier between widely divergent cultures, it is now a vital conduit of trade and adventure whose vast embrace of the largest and most powerful countries on the globe gently beckons their several shores afar, to discover the same watery blanket protects them all.

The Mighty Pacific: may it continue to live in peace, inspire us to accept the passage of time, and remind us that Ferdinand Magellan named this body of water for these very things before his attempt to circumnavigate a fragmented world eventually killed him. That's right - he died trying.

Was I supposed to leave that part out?

Not a chance, because it serves as caution of risks in any venture, no matter how worthy the ship, or how noble the cause. And we mustn't forget- Ferd's crew sailed on to finish the job!

As Pacific Ocean Massage Therapy embarks on its voyage of understanding, extending the olive branch to warring camps on the high seas of theory and practice, caution will be the watchword. Nevertheless, I plan to continue my quest for common ground, even if I die trying, even if someone else has to finish the job.